Police bust ATM heist, Romanian in custody

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 10  A Romanian man involved in a sensational ATM heist from an SBI kiosk here has been arrested in Mumbai and he has admitted to being a part of a Romanian gang.

Gabriel Marian was taken into custody on Tuesday night from Mumbai. He identified two others involved in the crime as Bogdean Florian and Christian Victor. The fourth has not been identified.

Mumbai Police, who detained Marian while he was withdrawing money from an ATM in Station Plaza, was later handed over to Kerala Police.

Marian is expected to reach here on Wednesday or Thursday.

The accused is understood to have admitted to have done the heist with his friends who were in the Kerala capital last month for some two weeks.

They are believed to have stayed at a beach destination in Kovalam.

They placed electronic equipment in the SBI kiosk, which enabled them to get the details of card holders who withdrew money from the ATM.

Using the stolen data, the gang withdrew money from Mumbai.

On Sunday, a few ATM cardholders got SMS alerts on mobile telephones stating money had been withdrawn from their accounts.

Around 50 people complained to the police here. The total loss to these bank customers has been put around Rs 2.50 lakh.

When they checked the visuals of CCTV camera, officials spotted two foreigners working on the 'smoke alarm' inside a SBI ATM.

The police then got their records form the hotel where they stayed.

The police have urged all those who used their ATM card form this kiosk to change their pins and have also asked all the banks to ensure that their kiosks do not contain any external fixtures.